Junk, wonderful junk: New shop to open in Loveland

Junk Wonderful opens Saturday at 409 N. Garfield Ave.

By Craig Young Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
05/16/2014 11:49:49 AM MDT

Mindy Waddell is launching a shabby-chic-style shop in downtown Loveland called Junk Wonderful. She picks up interesting pieces, such as the hen nesting box behind her, and repurposes them for home decor. Junk Wonderful, at 409 N. Garfield Ave., opens Saturday, May 17, 2014. (Craig Young / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

LOVELAND -- Mindy Waddell isn't shy about using the term "junk" to describe her passion. She even put it in her business name.

"I call it junk lovingly. It's pretty junk," she said.

On Saturday, Waddell will open Junk Wonderful, a new shop in downtown Loveland where she will sell old things that she has discovered and repurposed for use as home decor.

Waddell has sold her shabby-chic treasures for five years from a booth at A&J Antique Mall in south Fort Collins. She'd always wanted to have her own space and decided now is the time, although she's keeping her booth at the mall, too.

The tiny shop at 409 N. Garfield Ave. will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, she said, and on the second Friday of the month for Loveland's Night on the Town. She'll also plan some special events, she said.

Waddell, who works a full-time job in Loveland, said the store's schedule fits with her philosophy of making customers' visits to Junk Wonderful feel like special occasions. She wants them to expect to find something different each time.

A few days before her grand opening, the shop was stocked with an eclectic mix including an old dress form decorated in antique white as a "garden angel," small pieces of distressed furniture, jewelry and pillows she'd made herself, and a variety of other decor items.

Against the back wall stood a double-decker tin nesting box for chickens that caught her eye on a recent trip to Missouri. Something about the rusty patina and worn wooden perches called to her, she said.

"I junk all the time," Waddell said, using the word as a verb. "I look for different things that catch my eye that I can repurpose."

"I love the shabby chic. It's kind of got that romantic charm to it," she said. "I like rust and ruffles all together."

Junk Wonderful's grand opening will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 17, and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 18.